Yellow Dal Fry / Dal Tadka

Almost 20 years back, when Bangalore was not hit by the tech wave and hadn't grown beyond its boundaries, there were these dhabas or highway restaurants where truckers stopped over for a simple, reasonably priced meal and headed towards their destination. They dhabas are still there I assume, but much further away, since the city has stretched way beyond its limits.



As many old time Bangaloreans would remember, there were many dhabas near Jakkur airport, one of the more famous ones being Sanjay Dhaba. The khatiyas (cots with jute ropes criss-crossing across it, to make a bed) would be kept out for the truckers to have a small nap after their meal. It was a favourite Sunday event to go riding to Jakkur and then eat at one of those dhabas. We were a gang of 4, which sometimes grew to about 8 or ten, but for us four, these dhaba visits were great fun. The food was good, of course, but the ride to the dhabas was something I enjoyed even more.



There was a standard order of rotis, sabji, egg burji and dal fry, and depending on the company, a few more dishes would be added on. Simple fare but it tasted so good out there, sitting on the rather uncomfortable khatiyas and watching the Air Force training planes take off from Jakkur. The egg burji and the dal were always amazing with the freshly made Tandoori rotis.

I make dal everyday, sometimes with tur dal, mung dal, masoor dal, chana dal, but there is a dal on the table everyday since my son totally loves it and doesn't think a meal is complete unless he has had his rice and dal.
I never really followed any particular recipe, but the other day a friend called up and asked me how to make yellow dal fry. I actually rattled away a few ingredients to her and then tried it out myself.
Its a simple, basic recipe and you can use whatever you have in your kitchen to make this, but making this 'yellow dal fry' brought back many dhaba memories, which I guess made the dal so much tastier.



Yellow Dal Tadka

What you need -

1 cup Tur dal / Arhar dal / Yellow split peas
1 onion
1 tomato
2 green chillies / red chillies
1" piece ginger
3-4 cloves of garlic
1 tsp cumin seeds
a pinch of asafoetida
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
3 tsp oil
salt to taste

What you do with it -

Wash and rinse the tur dal and add 2.5 cups of water, turmeric and a litle calt
Pressure cook the dal for about 10-15 mins
Chop the onions, garlic, ginger and tomatoes
Heat a small pan and add 2 tsp oil to it. Add the asafoetida, cumin seeds and the slit green chillies or broken red chillies
Once the cumin seeds splutter, add the ginger, garlic and onions
Once the onions brown a bit, add the tomatoes and turn up the heat for 2-3 mins
Then add the cooked dal. You can churn the dal a bit before you add it to get a smoother consistency. Add water if the dal is too thick
Adjust the salt
In a small pan, heat 1 tsp oil and when the oil is hot, add the chilli powder. Let is sizzle in for a minute and then turn off the heat. Pour this over the dal
Sprinkle some coriander leaves and add a dash of lemon juice
Serve hot with rotis or rice

Karnataka farmer style food - Bas saaru and soppina palya

Its been over a month since I really made some regular South Indian food. There's been a lot of pizza, pasta and the like happening in my kitchen for a while now and last Sunday TH even commented about it. Luckily, TH and my son are very open to any type of food, but definitely our regular food is what is comfort food for us.

At my mom's place, we had this cook for a little while who made amazing Karnataka style food. Avrekayi masala, bisi bele bhath, Mysore rasam and this bas saaru were her specialitiesI found these amaranth leaves / dantina soppu here after a long time, and remembered its been ages since I had this bas saaru. Though this is not something I grew up with, I enjoy the earthy traditional goodness of this dish



This is a nutritious meal that is popular among the Gowda community of Karnataka. In Kannada 'basidu' means strained, since the saaru/rasam is prepared from this strained water it is called 'Bas Saaru'. The broth of the cooked greens and dals is made into a rasam / saaru and the remaining cooked dals and greens are made into a sabji / palya. This is usually had with ragi mudde / finger millet steamed balls. Packed with protein and iron, this is a staple among the farmers in Karnataka who need this to keep them going, with all that hard labour in the fields



We have something very similar in Konkani cooking too, called saar-upkari, where the grains or legumes are cooked with a lot of water. The water is used to make saar and the legumes are made into an upkari or a dry side dish. My favourite is alsande / black-eyed peas saar - upkari.
The bas saaru has more strong spices like cinnamon and garlic, which is not something I regularly use in a saar. This bas saaru is had with ragi mudde which is very nutritious but doesn't really have a taste of its own, so the accompaniments are usually quite spicy.

This made for a nice hearty, healthy Sunday lunch

Bas saaru and soppina palya

What you need -

3 cups packed chopped amaranth leaves (use spinach or any other combination of green leaves)
1/2 cup tur dal
1/4 cup yellow moong dal
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
2 tbsps grated coconut

3-4 peppercorns
3-4 pods of garlic
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 stick cinnamon
2 tbsp coriander leaves
a small ball of tamarind / 1/4 tsp tamarind extract
1/2 tsp grated jaggery
1 tea spn mustard seeds
2 red chillies
4-5 curry leaves
Oil
Salt

Method:

Combine the greens and the dals in a large vessel. Wash and drain and then add 4 cups of water and a little turmeric powder
Keep it partially covered and allow it to cook on a medium flame till the dal and the greens are cooked
Add a tbsp of grated coconut and continue cooking for another 5 mins
Strain the water and keep aside

For the saaru -
Take about 1/2 a cup of the cooked dal and greens and grind it along with the onion, garlic, pepper corns, cinnamon, coriander leaves and tamarind into a smooth thick paste
Add this paste to the water / broth in which the dal and greens were cooked
Add salt and jaggery and bring it to a boil
Season a few mustard seeds and curry leaves in oil and pour over the saaru

For the palya -
(this is really my version of making this palya, this is how we like it)
Heat a pan with a tsp of oil and a tsp of mustard seeds
Allow the mustard seeds to splutter and add the red chillies and curry leaves
Mix in 1/2 tsp of tamarind paste and 1/2 tsp grated jaggery into the remaining greens and dal and add this to the pan
Add a little salt and cook, adding a little water if required
Garnish with coconut
Serve hot saaru and palya with rice or ragi mudde

Mixed vegetable Sambar with ground masala / Arachivittu sambar

Rice is a staple in South Indian food and usually had as every course of the meal, with different accompaniments each course. In a daily meal, the rice is had first with sambar, then rasam and then curds. Some variations may be a flavoured rice like raw mango rice, tamarind rice, lemon rice, etc...
There are many other accompaniments, like mor kulambu, vatral kolambu or kootu but these form the basic ones. A dry vegetable is served with this, along with fried papad.

People who are not used to eating a typical South Indian meal could find the rice a bit too much, but for a South Indian, it is the perfect homely comfort food.



Sambar is usually made with ready sambar powder, which could either be store bought or home-made. A variation of this is arachivittu sambar which is made with a fresh masala, made of spices and coconut. The vegetables that go into this mixed vegetable sambar are usually brinjal, drumsticks and sweet pumpkin. You can make this using sambar powder instead of the ground masala, but the flavour and texture would be different

Since Pongal is a celebration of the harvest season, the locally grown vegetables are used in the sambar. I made this sambar with potatoes, brinjals, drumstick and sweet pumpkin. Have this with steaming hot rice and a dollop of ghee to begin the hearty South Indian meal

Arachivittu sambar

Adapted from 'Classic lunch recipes' By Mallika Badrinath

What you need -

2 cups of mixed vegetables (3 drumsticks, 2-3 long brinjals, 1/2 cup of pumpkin pieces, 2 potatoes)
1/2 cup tur dal / split pigeon peas
1 tsp tamarind paste / small ball of tamarind
2 tsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
a pinch of asafoetida
a few curry leaves

To grind to a paste
1 tbsp coriander seeds
4 red chillies
1 tbsp bengal gram dal / chana dal
1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds / methi
1/4 cup grated coconut

What you do with it -

Pressure cook the tur dal with a little turmeric till its all soft. Mash and allow it to cool
Fry the coriander seeds, red chillies, chana dal, methi and grind along with the coconut to a smooth paste
If using the tamarind paste, add it to a few tablespoons of water to extract the tamarind pulp
In a deep pan, cook the vegetables in the tamarind water / pulp
Allow the vegetables to cook and then add the salt and ground masala
Add the dal and cook till its thick
Pop the mustard seeds and asafoetida in a little oil
Add curry leaves and then pour over the sambar
Serve with hot rice and some ghee

Surna Ghashi / Yam in a Konkani style coconut masala

Rice is a staple in Mangalorean cuisine. Rotis were never really part of it. Its a more recent addition, with people adapting to food from different cultures or switched over from rice, for health reasons.

To go with rice, there is always a simple dali saar or the Mangalorean favourite - coconut based curries with sprouts or vegetables. Kadi, tambli or a lighter saar.
A favourite among these coconut based curries is the ghashi (gha-she)



Ghashis can be made using different legumes, vegetables or even fish. This time I tried a yam / surna ghashi and it turned out really good.

In Konkani cooking, there are slight variations in the ingredients that go into the masala, and then it turns into a new dish with a new name ! To make an 'ambat', skip the coriander seeds and add fenugreek / methi seeds instead. The seasoning is with fried onions in this case.

Yam / Surna ghashi

What you need -

100-125 gm yam / 1 cup chopped yam
3-4 garlic cloves
3 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 cup grated fresh coconut
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp tamarind paste or a small ball of tamarind
4-5 red chillies
oil
salt to taste

What you do with it -

Cut the skin off the yam, chop into bite size pieces and place in a colander under running water. Do not touch the yam while cleaning it, it can give you a bad rash
Drain and add a tsp of salt and cover with water, allow it to steam and cook. Do not let it get too soft.
Fry the red chillies and coriander seeds in a tsp of oil and set aside
Grind the grated coconut, turmeric powder, tamarind along with the friend coriander and red chillies, to a smooth paste
Add this to the cooked yam (along with the water) and bring it to a boil
Fry the garlic in oil and add it to the yam ghashi
If you don't want to use garlic, you can give it a seasoning of mustard seeds and curry leaves
Serve hot with rice

Sprouted Moong Saar / Mooga Saar

TH has had his wisdom tooth extracted and is in quite a bit of pain, and can't really chew on anything or have anything hot or spicy for a couple of days. He had ice-creams and shakes for a day, but doesn't feel like he's had a meal, unless he has his quota of rice.
I made this mooga saar with rice for him, which is a nice comforting meal !



This is one of my favourites, apart from this tomato saar, from Ma's different varieties of saar. Its made from sprouted green moong. A simple, quick saar that goes really well with rice and any simple sabji. This saar doesn't let any of the sprouted goodness go waste and is really nutritious.

If you have the patience, you can sprout the green moong. I'm lucky since I get sprouted moong from my vegetable vendor.

What you need -

1 cup sprouted green moong
6-8 sprigs of coriander
2 tbsp grated coconut
1 tbsp grated jaggery
1 tbsp jeera / cumin seeds
2 green chillies
1/2 tsp tamarind pulp
1/2 tsp salt or to taste
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp oil
a few curry leaves

What you do with it -

Take the leaves off the sprigs, clean, chop and set aside
Cook the sprouted moong in enough water. Drain and save the water
The skin of the sprouts rises up when you cook it. Take this skin along with some of the cooked moong and set aside
Store the remaining cooked moong to make an usal or any other sabji
Add the coconut, coriander leaves, jeera, tamarind, green chillies and jaggery to the skin and moong that is kept aside and grind to a smooth paste
Add the water (check the consistency and add appropriately) from the cooked moong and salt and bring to a boil
Temper the mustard seeds and curry leaves in a tsp of oil and add to the saar once its done
Serve with rice for a simple satisfying meal

Recipes from the Taj - Mamidikaya Pappu / Tangy dal with raw mangoes

Its been a while since I looked up this book of recipes from the Taj
I, almost always, land up cooking from some blog or some new recipes that Ma or my friends tell me about.



The raw mangoes are in the market and there are some varieties of the ripe mangoes too, though they are ridiculously expensive now ! I love mangoes, but I can wait...A couple of weeks and the markets will be full of lovely ripe mangoes...

I picked up some raw mangoes last week and then decided on making this simple tangy dal with raw mangoes from the Taj book of recipes. Its really a simple dal and different from my usual ones. Going by the name, this recipe if from Andhra, but we Konkanis make something similar to this, called tauy kadi, though its been ages since I last made one

My son enjoyed the taste of raw mangoes in this dal and I think I should make it more often this season
This with hot rice and some curried potatoes made for a really nice lunch...

Mamidikaya Pappu
by Chef Balaje from Taj Coromandel, Chennai
Recipe Source - Chef's favourites from the Taj

What you need -

2 medium sized raw mangoes
1 medium sized onion sliced
3-4 green chillies
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
3/4 cup tur dal / split pigeon peas
1 tsp salt

Tempering
1 spoon oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 clove garlic, chopped
3 red chillies
1 sprig curry leaves

What you do with it -

Wash and cut the raw mango into big cubes
Wash and soak the tur dal
Cook the dal along with the onions, raw mango pieces, green chillies and turmeric powder
When its done, add salt and mix well
For tempering, heat the oil, add red chillies, mustard seeds and cumin seeds
When they crackle, add curry leaves and garlic
Fry till garlic is golden brown
Add to the dal and serve hot with rice

No fry Kofta Curry

This is a slight Mangalorean twist to a regular curry. In addition to the onions and tomatoes, this one also has coconut in it
It adds a lot of texture and body to the gravy and personally, I think it uses lesser oil too
The recipe for this curry is from the cook we had at Ma's place when I was there with my new-born baby. In Ma's daily cooking, there is at least one coconut used per day, so using coconut in a kofta curry was not surprising !



The koftas are made using bottle gourd, which is alkaline and very good for our stomach - it helps neutralize all the acid.
Deep frying these koftas then, didn't make sense - we would lose out on the 'good for health' tag that the bottle gourd brought. Inspired by Nags' kadhi pakodi, I decided to 'cook' these koftas in a paniyaram chatti / appe kadai / aebleskiver pan

Worked out great and you don't really miss out on the deep frying at all

So here's some healthy kofta curry, if you, like me, believe that coconut cannot be bad for health !!

No fry Kofta Curry

What you need -

For the kofta
1 medium sized bottle gourd / dudhi
1/2 cup chickpea flour / besan
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp carom seeds / ajwain
1 tsp chilli powder
1/2 salt

For the gravy
2 onions
4 tomatoes
1 tbsp poppy seeds / khus khus (soaked it water for a couple of hours)
1 tsp cumin seed / jeera powder
1/2 cup fresh grated coconut
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp coriander seed / dhania powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 salt

What you do with it -

For the curry
Blanch, peel and grind the tomatoes to a puree
Grind the grated coconut, onions and khus khus to a smooth paste, adding upto 1/2 cup water
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a deep pan and add the onion-coconut paste and fry for 2-3 mins
Then add the tomato puree and fry for another minute or so
Add the dhania powder, jeera powder, salt and chilli powder
Stir well
Add upto 1/2 cup water, as required
Sprinkle with garam masala and bring to a slow boil

For the koftas
Peel and grate the bottle gourd
Add turmeric powder, chilli powder, carom seeds and salt
The gourd release a lot of water, so just add enough besan, a spoon at a time, to make the batter thick enough
I got about a cup of grated bottle gourd and added little less that 5 tbsp of besan
Some people add cooking soda to make it fluff up more, but I prefer to avoid it
You could add a tsp of cooking soda if you really want to
Mix well
Heat the paniyaram chatti on a medium flame
Put in a drop of oil in each depression and swirl the pan around so the oil coats the entire area
Drop into the batter with a tbsp into each depression
Cover with a lid and keep on a low-medium flame
It should be done in about 2-3 mins, turn it over carefully
Keep on heat uncovered for another minute
Remove and keep aside. I cover it in aluminium foil and keep it a closed container

Add the koftas to the curry just before serving
Garnish with coriander leaves

Mangalorean Egg Curry

I just realised a couple of days back that I haven't made an egg curry in over a year, which is very strange because I really like it. Eggs have only got into some cake or muffins, and maybe some breakfast omelettes over the last one year !

I decided I just had to have egg curry for dinner and called up Ma for her recipe. She gave me this one. Its typically Mangalorean - its got coconut, red chillies, tamarind and coriander seeds, which is a standard base for so many Konkani dishes...

Had it with steamed rice and a salad and it felt like such a perfect meal...



What you need -

4 eggs
1/2 cup grated coconut
4-6 red chillies
1 stick cinnamon
3 cloves
1/2 inch piece ginger / 1/2 tsp ginger paste
3 cloves garlic
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp tamarind paste
5-8 curry leaves
1 medium onion
1 tomato
1 tsp mustard seeds

What you do with it -

Boil the eggs, allow it to cool
Peel and cut into half lengthwise
Heat oil in a small pan
Add the coriander seeds, cumin seeds and red chillies and fry taking care not to burn the chillies
Add the cinnamon, cloves, garlic, ginger and coconut and fry for two more minutes
Keep aside and allow it to cool
Then grind all the ingredients along with tamarind, using about 1/2 cup water into a smooth paste
Chop the onion and tomato into small pieces
In a pan, add a tsp of oil and the mustard seeds - allow it to splutter and then add the curry leaves, onions and tomatoes
Sauté till the onions are brownish and the tomatoes are squishy
Add the ground paste and salt and bring it to a boil, adding more water if required
Lower the flame and add the eggs
Boil for 2 more mins and take it off the heat
Serve hot with rice, parathas or bread

Jeer Meerya Kadi / Cumin-Pepper Coconut curry

Kadis and Tamblis are popular in Konkani cooking...Undoubtedly, coconuts are the base for this...Both use almost a similar set of ingredients, with some variations here and there...
The basic difference is that tamblis are served cold, they are not heated at all, just grind the ingredients and serve, Kadis on the other hand involve some roasting, grinding and boiling...



Jeera (cumin) and meerya (pepper) are considered very good at helping with gastric problems, Ma used to always make this when we had a stomach upset, or anyway make it about twice a month, to help with any gastric problems...She even uses the skin of a pomegranate in this, which added a bitterish but nice flavour...

This kadi/curry with rice is one of my total comfort foods...

What you need -

1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp pepper corns
3/4 cup grated fresh coconut
6-8 cloves garlic
skin of 1/2 pomegranate (optional)
4-5 red chillies
small ball of tamarind / 1/2 tsp tamarind paste
1 tsp ghee
salt to taste

What you do with it -

Dry out the skin of the pomegranate and then cut into pieces
Heat ghee in a small pan and add the cumin, pepper, 3-4 cloves of garlic and the pomegranate skin and roast for 2-3 mins
Grind together the coconut gratings, chillies, tamarind and salt
Add the roasted ingredients and grind to a smooth paste
Add 2-3 cups of water to this and bring to a boil
to season, heat some ghee/oil and fry the remaining garlic till it turns brown
add to the kadi and serve with hot rice and papads

Melange of Vegetables in a flavoured curry sauce

This is one more of the Recipes from the Taj, this time by Chef C J Richard at Patio, Taj Coromandel, Chennai
Unfortunately the recipe in the book seems to have been written in a hurry. There is no mention of what vegetables he used and even the proportion of the tomato sauce and cream is not very clear



The gravy is an aromatic thick tomato creamy one with a curry powder (no, not that bottled one sold as an Indian spice) that has been made from scratch...the combination of flavours is very aromatic and after a few trials with the quantities of various ingredients, I have settled on this adaptation..

From the picture in the book, I figured he has used brocolli, asparagus, red capsicum and mushrooms - I didnt have any of these at home, so stuck to the regular cauliflower, carrots and capsicum...

The first time I made this, I used tomato ketchup like they mentioned in the recipe. I wasnt too happy with the result. The next time I pureed the tomatoes and it was much nicer.

This goes really well with steamed rice

Sending this to Divya's Show me your curry Event


What you need

1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp curry powder (recipe follows)
1/2 cup tomato puree (from about 3 medium sized toatoes)
1/2 cup fresh cream
2 tbsp olive oil
2 green capsicums
2 carrots
1 cup of cauliflower florets

For the curry powder
1/2 tbsp fenugreek seeds
1/2 tbsp mustard seeds
5 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp turmeric powder
2 tbsp pepper corns
2 tbsp red chilli powder
2 tbsp cumin seeds
1/2 cup cleaned and dried curry leaves

What you do with it

For the curry powder
Roast fenugreek, mustard, coriander seeds, peppercorns and cumin seeds
Mix the turmeric powder, chilli powder and curry leaves and grind to a smooth powder
Do not add any water
You can store this powder in an airtight container in a cool dry place for about a month

Saute the onions and garlic in olive oil
Add 2 tbsps curry powder and saute for a few minutes
Add the cauliflower, carrot and capsicum and saute for 3-4 mins
Add the tomato puree and the cream and mix well and cook till the vegetables are done
Serve with hot steamed rice

Other Recipes from the Taj
Kombdicha Rassa
Lasooni Palak

Tomato Saar

Konaki cuisine uses a lot of coconuts - its the base for most side dishes, like bendhi, sukke, bhutti and for almost all the curries had with rice, like ambat, ghashi, saar, sambaren...
If its not used in the masala, then its part of the garnish at least. You will see very few dishes in Konkani cooking that do not use coconut.

Everytime there is a hint of an arguement of coconuts not being healthy, most pachchis (means mother's sister, but used for all 'aunties') are up in arms defending the poor coconut. They will give you lectures on how coconut and coconut oil is actually good for you.
Traditional Mangalorean cooking uses coconut oil for the seasoning. Specific types of Happol (papads) are fried only in coconut oil, because they taste best only that way !



This is a very simple and super tasty saar (something like a rasam, but thicker) with tomatoes and coconut. It has the spice from the green chillies, tangy tart flavour from the tomatoes and sweetness from the jaggery...
Simple to make and goes very well with rice and simple side dish like an upkari

I am thrilled that Sia is hosting the RCI event this month featuring Mangalorean and Udupi cuisine, orginally started by Lakshmi of Veggie Cuisine

To read my other posts on Mangalorean cuisine, see Dudhya Koddel, Pathrode, Tendle Bibbe Upkari, Tendle Bhutti, Khatkhaten and Solkadi

What you need -

4 tomatoes
3-4 green chillies
1 cup dessicated coconut
a few curry leaves
1 red chilli
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
a pinch of asafoetida
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp grated jaggery

What you do with it -

Blanch the tomatoes in hot water. Peel the skin off and keep aside to cool
Keep this water to use later. This is where the nutrients are
Grind the chillies, coconut and tomatoes in a blender till smooth
Add the water reserved earlier and a little more water if required, to the tomato-coconut paste
Add salt and jaggery and bring to a boil
Heat oil in a small pan and add mustard seeds, broken red chilli, curry leaves and asafoetida
Pour the seasoning over the saar and serve with hot rice

Avrekai Masala

After my little one was born, I was at my mom's place for about 2-3 months and I really value all the help I got from my mom during that time...
Its just so overwhelming when you have a baby- you are suddenly responsible for this tiny little being who is incapable of doing anything other that the pee-poop-cry-sleep routine.
My mom was like the super woman, handling me, the baby, home and cooking. It did really get too much, so we arranged for a cook in a few days..

Mrs D made the most awesome 'bisi bele bhath' (rice, dal and lot of veggies in a spicy masala, for those who don't know - a speciality from Karnataka), avrekai masala and a super duper mysore style rasam.
It was a bit spicier than the regular food I was used to, but after months of eating bland food, I seemed to really relish it. These three recipes have been noted down in my recipe book, and made many times over at home...



Avrekai is a big favorite in Bangalore and during the winters, which is the season for avrekai, you will find it in akki rotti, uppitu, sambar, huli, rava idli...
There is this interesting thing that happens in some homes in the older areas on Bangalore - the skin of the avrekai is kept outside the house and apparently the more the number of people stamp over it, the tastier the dish gets !!

This is made best with fresh avrekai. If you cant find that, try it with fresh peas or any other bean soaked overnight and cooked. I tried this in Ahmedabad with what they called 'daano', which i conveniently decided is avrekai.

What you need -

2 cups peeled avrekai (I am guessing this is navy beans)
3 onions
3 green chillies
5 pepper corns
1 tomato
1 tsp coriander seed/ dhania powder
4 cloves of garlic
1" piece ginger
1/2 cup coriander leaves
1/2 coconut grated
salt to taste

What you do with it -

Cook the avrekai in a pot of or water or the cooker(2 whistles) or in the microwave for about 7-8 mins
Cut the onions, green chillies, garlic, ginger, tomatoes, coriander leaves
Heat 2 tsps of oil in a kadai and fry the onions, green chillies, ginger, garlic and pepper corns till the onions turn translucent
Then add the remaining ingredients except tomatoes and fry for 3-4 mins
Grind this to a coarse paste
Add the avrekai to this paste, add salt and bring to a boil

Dudhya Koddel (Red Pumpkin with sichuan pepper and coconut)

I must have mentioned in all the posts related to Konkani cuisine, that we really cannot complete a meal without some(actually a lot) coconut in it. Its a staple in Mangalorean cuisine and isn't really considered unhealthy.

Either the side dish, or what we have with rice, or both in most cases, has to have coconut in it.
Bendhi, Humman (who-mann), Koddel, Sukke are made with a thick coconut masala, and had as a side dish. Each one had red chillies, tamarind and coconut in it, with a few variations and different seasoning



Teppal / Sichuan pepper is a spice (pod of a fruit) very specific to Konkani cuisine, and from what I read, also used in Tibetian, Bhutanese and Chinese cuisine ! It adds a wonderful aroma to the dish, but too pungent and strong in taste to be eaten. Teppal is used in koddel and a lot of fish curries, to help fight any gastric problem that the fish creates.

The red chillies used in this are the 'byadgi' variety, which give it a lovely red colour, but not that spicy. Must take some of these chillies back to Ahmedabad - there the chillies are super spicy, but there is no colour !

This koddel is a South Canara special and generally made with red pumpkin - there is also a puli koddel, made with ash gourd.

Koddel

What you need -

1 cup peeled and cubed red pumpkin
1 cup grated coconut
6 red chillies
small ball of tamarind
3-4 teppal (sichuan peppers)
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp oil

What you do with it -

Fry red chillies in a tsp of oil
Grind together the coconut, red chillies and tamarind into a smooth paste
Steam cook the pumpkin pieces, adding a little salt when its almost done
Add pumpkin pieces to the coconut masala and bring to a slow boil
In 1/2 tsp oil, fry the teppal (sichuan pepper) and add to the pumpkin

* Warning: Do not eat the teppal / sichuan peppers - they are really strong in taste

Kadi for the soul - Solkadi / Kokum Kadi

Just thinking of Goa puts me in a better mood...great place, amazing food and fantastic memories..

This is where I took the big decision of saying yes to S :)
I dont have to tell you about the place - the weather the people and the beaches make it India's top holiday destination
And of course, the food - its really really amazing - you get all sorts of cuisine here, but I totally pig out on the local Goan cuisine..

Sol / Kokum is a berry like fruit, and the rind of this is dried and preserved. This is popular in Goa and the Konkan area. With its tangy taste, its used as an alternative to tamarind in these regions.
This is what the kokum rinds look like



Kokum infused water is also used to treat allergic rashes - i remember when we were younger, my brother used to break out into a rash because of the 'pitha' and ma would rub his hands with kokum water and the rashes would disappear in no time

My favourite form of kokum is SolKadi - coconut milk with kokum
and
Saar or 'phooti kadi' which is just kokum water with seasoning.
Solkadi with ice is great as a drink in the hot summers and the saar is great with rice

I made a combination of this - i love it as kadi, but didnt want to make another curry for the rice, so made the coconut milk version with the seasoning used for the saar, tasted fantastic as a drink and with rice !



Hey, this is a nice pink too, so Priya, you have one more entry from me for FIC- Pink. FIC or Food in colours is the brilliant idea of Harini, more famous as Sunshinemom


What you need

10-12 kokum rinds
1/4 coconut grated
4 cloves of garlic
4 pepper corns
1/2 tsp salt
5 cups water (approx)
1 tsp mustard seeds
4-5 curry leaves
1 tbsp grated jaggery

What you do with it

Wash the kokum rinds in water and soak in water
You can keep this for 5-6 hours or overnight
(If you dont have the time, boil the water and then add the kokum rinds
Allow it to stand for a 4-5 mins and then remove the rinds
The water should have a dark pink tinge
If its black, it may mean that the kokum rinds are really old)
Remove the rinds from the water and dissolve salt and jaggery in the water
Grind the coconut, garlic cloves and pepper corns with about 1/2 cup water
Strain thru a fine sieve or a muslin cloth
Add this to the kokum water
To make my husband get the 'rasam feel', i seasoned it with mustard seeds and curry leaves

You could skip the seasoning and just garnish with coriander leaves and a slit green chilli. Put in 4-5 ice cubes per glass and have it as a refreshing drink

Puli Kulambu

Chettinad cuisine is more famous for their non vegetarian food, but they do have a nice vegetarian spread too, which is rather spicy and tangy.
Tamarind and a whole lot of spices are some of the more important ingredients in this type of cooking.

S's maternal grandfather is from Chettinad. There is this really palatial ancestral house in Karaikudi, (which is considered as the capital of Chettinad) that he (the grandfather) was from, but had to leave because he chose to marry someone from another community.
A few years back, we were down in Karikudi for a wedding and it was a very different experience. All the women from the bride's side of the family were in green coloured heavy silk sarees and the ones from the groom's side were in red. This was the first time i has seen something like this at an Indian wedding, which otherwise has no colour code!

Chettiars were originally into money-lending, trading and even famous as diamond merchants down south. The diamond merchant bit was quite obvious at this wedding we attended. The women were decked with rows of diamond necklaces !!
The food was simply fantastic. The day after the wedding they have this whole non-vegetarian spread and they dont stop at just mutton, chicken and fish. Their cuisine includes a lot of other meat, the details of which I will skip for the sake of all the vegetarians reading this..

One of the really tangy vegetarian dishes is the Puli Kulambu (tamarind gravy)
This recipe is from Mallika Badrinath's "Classic Lunch Recipes"




Sending this entry to RCI: Chettinadu Vegetarian Cuisine hosted this month by Srimathi of Few Minute Wonders

What you need -

1/2 cup small onions peeled (1 regular onion would also do)
10 cloves of garlic
2-3 tsps of sambar powder
2 tomatoes chopped fine
tamarind the size of a medium lemon (or more if you like it really tangy)
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
10-12 onion vadams (i used the readymade vadams for this)
10-12 curry leaves

What you do with it -

Soak tamarind in water for about 1/2 hour and extract juice
Heat oil in a broad frying pan and add fennel and fenugreek, chopped garlic, onions and curry leaves
Fry till onions are translucent and add chopped tomatoes
Stir till the tomatoes get pulpy
Add sambar powder, fry for a minute and then pour tamarind extract with 1 cup water
Add salt and boil till thick. Add more water if needed
Deep fry the vadams in oil till golden brown
Add to gravy and wait for one boil
Serve with hot rice and appalams

Peppery Egg Curry

It was one of those cold boring evenings and my little son was asleep and TH wasn't back from work. This is always the best time to go blog-hopping. I always used to read up recipe books like a novel when I buy them, but now since I discovered the food blogging world, that is the best thing to do when I am bored and can't decide on what to make for dinner.

I hadn't made anything with eggs in a long time and was drooling over Sig's blog when I saw this pic of the Egg Roast. Her blog is a real visual treat and this I really couldn't give a miss.
I tweaked the recipe a bit, added some coconut milk so that it could go well with rice. It turned out real nice, peppery and spicy and was wiped out clean for dinner.

Here's my version - Peppery Egg Curry

What you need -

4 eggs
2 tsp chilli powder
2 tsp coriander powder
8-10 pepper corns
2 tsp aniseed
1" cinnamon
3 cloves
2 pods cardamom
4-5 pods garlic
3 medium onions chopped
2 tomatoes chopped
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup chopped coriander leaves
salt to taste

What you do with it -

Hard boil the eggs. Shell and cut in halves.
Grind together the chilli powder, coriander powder, pepper corns, aniseed, cinnamon, cloves, garlic with a little water to make a smooth paste
Heat oil, fry onions till brown
Add the masala paste and fry for 3 mins
Add tomatoes, salt and half a cup of water
Cook till the tomatoes blend well
Add coconut milk, stir well and adjust salt if needed
Add halved eggs.
Garnish with coriander leaves